DOH Reviews NH Quality Pool Results, Proposes No Changes
At a meeting of the Nursing Home Quality Initiative (NHQI) Workgroup on Feb. 24th, the Department of Health (DOH) reviewed the results of the 2016 NHQI, which reflected the first year of the new staffing hours measure. Meanwhile, the payment adjustments for the 2013-16 NHQI results are still on hold.
DOH began by reviewing the results of the 2016 NHQI, which were released on the Health Commerce System in February 2017. Facility quintile rankings for 2016 and other program information are also posted on the NHQI page on the DOH website. Key findings included the following:
- Out of 100 points, the average facility scored 50.1 in 2016, an increase over the 49.3 average score in 2015.
- Vaccination rates remain high. In 2016, 83 percent of long-term residents received seasonal flu vaccines; 82 percent of long-term residents received pneumococcal vaccines; and 85 percent of employees received seasonal flu vaccines.
- There was considerable variation in the new staffing hours per day measure, which is based on nurse and aide worked hours for employees and contracted staff reported in the 2015 Medicaid cost report. The statewide average was 3.4 hours per resident day, with a wide range of 3.1-12.5 hours per patient day in the top quintile.
- 99.3 percent of facilities timely submitted their Medicaid cost reports, while 95.2 percent submitted their employee flu immunization data by the May 1, 2016 deadline.
DOH examined the two long-stay resident Quality Measures (QMs) added by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) during 2016, as well as potentially preventable hospital readmission measures developed by CMS and 3M Health Information Systems, for possible inclusion in the NHQI for 2017. Due to various methodological and other concerns, DOH is not proposing to include any of these measures or make any other changes to the NHQI for 2017. DOH will also be examining data that are being gathered from new questions in Section S of the Minimum Data Set relating to dental care, comfort care, and resident hospitalizations resulting from family or health care proxy requests.
LeadingAge NY will be closely reviewing the 2016 results and 2017 methodology, and the Association will be submitting comments. Members with comments or questions on the 2017 methodology or other aspects of the NHQI should contact us. A copy of DOH’s Feb. 24th presentation to the NHQI Workgroup is posted here for your review.
Concerns remain on the ongoing delays in making associated payment adjustments. DOH officials have indicated that unresolved litigation challenging implementation of the NHQI has delayed the payments, which the federal government has already approved for 2013-2015. LeadingAge NY is tracking the litigation closely.
Contact: Dan Heim, dheim@leadingageny.org, 518-867-8866